Probability and Graphing

Materials - 10-20 unifix cubes in 3 colors per group
paper bag
sheet for tally marks and to make prediction

Procedure:
Prior to activity fill bags for each group with set of unifix cubes use only 3 colors per bag


Place students in pairs or small groups
Have them empty the contents on the table to view the amount of each color of cubes.
Write the color names on a sheet of paper.
Students must predict which color they think will pull out most often when the randomly select a cube. Write the prediction on a sheet of paper.
Place cubes back in bag.
Have students take turns sticking their hand in the bag and selecting a cube(without looking). As they pull a cube from the bag, write down a tally mark for that cube and place the cube back in the bag. Repeat 20 times.
At the end, have students compare the actual results with their prediction.

Next, have students enter their data into a spreadsheet application.
The spreadsheet should look like this:
Column A Column B
color number
red 4
blue 7
green 1


Have the students graph their data. Most spreadsheet programs will allow you to change the color of the bars, lines, etc. Have the students change the color of the bars on their chart to reflect the colors they had in their bag.

Happy Computing!